Blindness to the Light
by Ninin Sakusha
Summary: The Kyuubi is attacking Konoha but Yondaime Hokage is nowhere to be found.  He's at the hospital waiting for his first son to be born.  What happens when in a move to protect Naruto's future, Jiraiya preforms the Sealing himself at the cost of his life? A
1. Sacrifice

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Naruto, Kishimoto-sensei does!

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"We have to hold it off until Yondaime gets here!!" One of the many Jonin screamed while his comrades fought their hardest to stave off the utter destruction that the Kyuubi wrote wherever his tails swept.

But despite the happenings on the battlefield, Yondaime wasn't anywhere near the battle. He was in a delivery room, pacing back and forth feverishly while in the company of his Sensei and the previous Hokage. "Minato-san…" The Hokage heard behind him, the voice was distinctly that of Sandaime. Turning to face the man a frantic look could be seen in his eyes, a look that spoke volumes on the plans he was running through his head about dealing with the Kyuubi. "There is another way…let me do it. I will gladly give my life to save this village!"

With a sigh, Minato put a hand on the shorter man's shoulder. "No…it is not your responsibility anymore Sandaime-sama. This is my burden to bear and I will do it gladly as well. You will be needed to lead our people once I am gone."

There was truth in what he spoke and Sarutobi couldn't deny that, but the thought of loosing the most powerful Shinobi to ever be born in Konoha was a thought that he did not wish to think. The two continued their speeches with each other for a while, but the Sannin along with them was unusually quiet at that moment, his own mind swimming with possibilities. It was at that moment that the doctor burst through the doors in a panic. "Hokage-sama!!" Everyone's attention was instantly directed at the man, who felt rather odd having the three most powerful people in the village hang on his every word. "It's a boy!" He proclaimed, but after seeing the joyous leaping and hollering coming from his Hokage he didn't know if he could tell the rest of the news. "But…" Minato instantly stopped and looked at him wide eyed in fear, there as only one thing that could come out of the doctor's mouth and it wasn't something he wanted to hear. "Kushina-san…she didn't make it…after looking at her son, she lost all strength and died after saying the word Naruto…"

In a bright flash of yellow light the Hokage was gone. "Minato!" Jiraiya yelled as he shot through the door, coming to the other side he frowned in sadness as he saw his student and best friend weeping on the cold corpse of his wife and mother to his child.

"KUSHINA-CHAN!!! NOOO!!" He screamed to the heavens, the brightest star in his sky had been darkened forever. "Don't leave me all alone! You were supposed to be here…you were supposed to raise him…you were supposed to love him…" He was breaking down and fast.

Seeing this Jiraiya turned quickly and took the infant out of the hands of the nurse. Walking over he put a supporting hand on Minato's shoulder. "You're son needs you now…Naruto needs you to be strong."

Looking up with eyes so red that you would think they belonged to a weak little child, not the Hokage; Minato was returned with a stern and firm look from his Sensei. "Naruto…my son." Picking him up he looked down onto a face that was almost a carbon copy of his. A saddened gaze crossed Minato's face as he realized what must be done. "I'm sorry Naruto…you'll never know your mother…or your father…"

"Wrong." Whipping his head around Minato was met with a serious looking Jiraiya standing at his side. "You raise that boy right…I had planned on training him one day…but oh well you'll be better than me anyway." Minato then suddenly collapsed from the hard chop to the back of his neck. With the Hokage unconscious at his feet, the Sannin turned solemnly to face his own Sensei. "Look after those two sensei…especially Minato…he won't understand yet." Then in a puff of smoke he was gone.

"WHEN IS YONDAIME-SAMA GETTING HERE!?!" A Chunin screamed in pain as he looked upon the decapitated torso of his best friend.

Just as he had screamed this there was a rumbling and a feeling of a massive amount of chakra being used. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!!" Suddenly the battlefield was engulfed in smoke, once the vicious winds from the assault blew them away the form of the gigantic Toad boss Gamabunta could be seen with a person riding atop his head.

"Hokage-sama!!" The Shinobi cheered as they waited to be saved by their glorious leader. That was until one of the ones closer to the Toad looked more closely and saw that it wasn't their blond haired Hokage, but the white haired Sannin. "No! It's Jiraiya-sama!!"

In an instant the cheers were shifted to yell the name of Jiraiya, this didn't go without notice. The Kyuubi had noticed the arrival of the Toad and was now laughing to himself at the lack of the village's Leader. **"The Namikaze is too afraid to fight me himself? So be it! I'll tear everyone I see limb from limb until he shows up!!"**

With a feral roar he shot off towards Jiraiya who to the Fox's surprise was holding a newborn in his arms as he gathered a huge amount of chakra. The Kyuubi was suddenly blinded by a bright blue light that seemed to explode from Jiraiya as he screamed and held the infant out before him, as the Kyuubi felt like he was being pulled into the baby. "Shiki Fūjin!!!" Jiraiya yelled as the last ounce of the Kyuubi was sucked into the boy in his arms. Collapsing to the ground his hacked up a large amount of blood, but with the last remaining strength he had he picked Naruto up and placed him on his chest. Looking down he saw that there were three cuts on either cheek, a wound Jiraiya was sure would scar. "I'm sorry Naruto…with your father alive you'll be raised right and might stand a chance not being hated for what's inside you. You'll never know me…" With a big cough that sprayed blood all over Gamabunta's head. "But I'll be watching over you…like the grandfather you never had…" With that, the Shinigami consumed his soul and the laughter of Jiraiya was lost to the world forever.

It was almost at that exact moment that Minato's eyes opened. After realizing what had happened he whirled around to look frantically at Sandaime, who had tears running down his face. "He…He didn't…" It was also then that he realized that he couldn't feel Jiraiya's chakra presence anywhere and that it seemed that the Kyuubi's ominous chakra was gone. "HE DIDN'T!!" In a bright flash of light he was gone.

Locating the kunai marker that Jiraiya had on him at all times, Minato instantly appeared next to the Sannin's corpse. Seeing the flash of light, all the Shinobi knew that their Hokage had finally arrived. Trembling, Minato fell to his knees, his hands holding onto his head amidst his panic. "NOOOOO!!!" He screamed out, but this was soon interrupted by the wailing of a baby. "…Naruto…"

"He sacrificed himself to save this village and ensure that the kid would have a family." Gamabunta said to the Hokage. "He died honorably…and you should be proud of him. He died a true Shinobi…but he's not the only hero. That kid should be regarded as an even bigger hero than Jiraiya…because he will have the burden of containing the Kyuubi all his life!" Everyone on the battlefield heard his words and was shocked to hear that Jiraiya had died, and even more shocked to hear that the Kyuubi was trapped inside a child.

The sound of someone arriving via Shunshin no Jutsu pulled Minato away from what the massive Toad was saying. "It was for the best…" Sandaime said as he looked down at the face of his now dead student. Even in death he wore a bright smile; somehow Sandaime felt that this is what Jiraiya really wanted. Minato just looked at the aged ex-Hokage like he was crazy. "He did all of this for Naruto…just think about it Minato-san. The boy will have enough problems because of the Kyuubi; it would be unbearable if he had no family. As soon as he heard about Kushina-chan I'm sure that he planned to do this."

Standing up and whipping his tears away he gazed hard at the night sky. In one day two of the brightest stars in his world had been extinguished. But then is gaze fell down to his son and he smiled, he realized that they both had died for him, and to honor their memories he would be the best father he could possibly be. It would be what Kushina and Jiraiya would have wanted, not constant mourning and depression. With his smile widening he leaned down and held his son close to his chest, but he couldn't help but feel the pains of guilt, regret, and remorse creep into his heart.

"I'll take is body back to the village…he'll get a hero's funeral." Hoisting Jiraiya's lifeless body over his shoulder he vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Bunta…we don't need you anymore." Minato said and with a nod from the toad and a gigantic explosion of smoke he was gone, leaving the Hokage on the ground with his son in his arms.

Taking his long white tunic like jacket off he wrapped Naruto tightly in it. It was also then that the surviving Shinobi began to gather around their leader. "Everyone…I present to you your savior." With a smile he held out Naruto for everyone to see. "His name is Namikaze Naruto…my son." A more solemn look over took his face after saying that. "Unfortunately Jiraiya-sama was lost in the fight to seal the Kyuubi…the funeral for him as well as all of the brave Shinobi who lost their lives today will be held tomorrow."

Murmurs started to be heard throughout the group once Minato's speech was done. "But if the Kyuubi is inside Naruto isn't he just the Kyuubi." "He's just a demon brat." "We should kill him to ensure the Kyuubi doesn't break free one day!"

The murmurs were getting louder and more negative by the second. "THAT'S ENOUGH!!" He yelled in a commanding voice that made everyone present fear for their lives. "Speaking such things about my son is the same as going against the Hokage, and the penalty for such treason is…death! The truth of the sealing of Kyuubi is now officially an S-class Village secret! Anyone who speaks of it, especially to anyone who does not know the truth…will be killed by my hands!" His glare made every person who had spoken out against Naruto quiver in fear, the look coming from Minato was one that said what he had said was the truth. "Now everyone go home to your families…this war is over." In a flash of yellow he was gone, leaving many to lock their lips concerning Naruto forever, yet many still held resentment for the infant.

But among everyone that was there only one had a grin on his face, and only one was chuckling softly to himself quietly. "This is going to be interesting indeed…" He said as the moonlight reflected off his pale white skin and illuminated his yellow snake like eyes.

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**That does it for chapter one. With Jiraiya gone, how will the others in Konoha cope? How will Minato deal with the loss of two of his loved ones in one day? And most importantly, what has Orochimaru grinning about?**

**Also just to let any reads know, this a joint fanfic written by RasenganRendan and cloudfightback. You can look up either of them through this one's profile!!**

**So please review! We can get chapter 2 out faster if we get more reviews!**


	2. Plans

"Talking"

'Thinking'

"**Kyuubi talk"**

'**Kyuubi thought'**

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Naruto.

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It had been a week since the worst day in Konoha history, the funeral had been held two days after the attack and now everyone was hard at work trying to rebuild their village. The funeral had been incredibly hard for Minato; all he had wanted to do there was break down and weep before the smiling pictures of his wife and Sensei. But he understood all to well that he was the central pillar from which all of Konoha drew its strength and he needed to be strong for them all. After the funeral, he had gone back to the duties a Hokage would have to do after such an attack.

The next day in a remarkable diplomatic move, he managed to secure a strong alliance with Suna, making sure that if anyone took advantage of their weakened state they would have backup. Most people in the village would never know of this, but the Shinobi who had heard it were all astounded.

But it was the week after the attack that Minato finally took off some time from drowning himself in work. After asking Sandaime to look after Naruto for a little bit, he headed off to the Memorial Stone. Once he got there, he was not surprised to see his own student, Kakashi, standing before it with a look of regret.

Not saying a word, the Hokage stopped next to the silver haired man and began to bore a hole in Jiraiya's name with his gaze. Looking over, Kakashi could see that his Sensei was troubled. His gaze was that of seriousness, regret, pain, and remorse. "I'm sorry Minato-sensei…about Kushina-senpai." 'I've never seen Sensei with such a serious look…their deaths must be affecting him so much more than he lets on.'

Initially the Hokage didn't respond, but stood there staring at the rock before them. After a couple minutes, he spoke up. "Kakashi…what do you think of my son? Knowing what he holds within him…"

"I…" He hesitated momentarily as he reached far into his mind to find how he really felt. "I see him as the hero he is, he'll have to keep that Fox inside of him his whole life…in my eyes he's more of a hero than even Jiraiya-sama, the hardships he'll go through in life, the hate from the public, not knowing why everyone glares at him. I don't know if I could handle such a burden."

Still starring at the rock Minato smiled slightly. "Good…well then to ensure that nothing will happen to him. I'm assigning you to shadow him whenever I'm not around and keep him safe. That is an ANBU's job after all."

"But Sensei…shouldn't I be used to make sure our village's power doesn't fall too much?!"

"No, this is more important…as much as I hate to think this way, with the Kyuubi inside of him…Naruto may become stronger than all of us one day, so for the village's sake he needs to be protected." Then his head slumped downwards if only for a moment. "Plus…you and Sandaime-sama are the only one's I fully trust anymore."

Kakashi understood completely, this wasn't an order from the boy's father, but from the Hokage. "Hai, Hokage-sama! When do I start?"

It was then that a small glint appeared in Minato's eye. "As soon as I get the Council to approve it…" He said quietly with a smirk.

Kakashi raised his eyebrows in a curious manner before slowly nodding. "Hai, Hokage-sama." With that he turned and rushed off in the direction of downtown Konoha, he did have other things to do that day and if he was to be assigned to Naruto he would need to get several things done beforehand.

Once Kakashi had left, Minato decided that it was about time he left as well. He was now on his way towards Hokage Tower so as to meet with the council when he began to think deeper into his idea while wondering if one of the council will be there. His mind was praying that he wouldn't be present at the meeting…him and his one eye.

Along the way back to the council, he remembered a saying that his Sensei had told him once, a saying that he in turn had learned from Sandaime. Minato smiled at the memory. "_Memories, bonds, dreams…all these things are worth making sacrifices for because it is the legacy of the Will of Fire, and one day that Will shall pass on to those beneath you and it will only grow stronger."_ The memory set a new fire in Minato's heart; this was something e needed to do so that the future of the village was secure.

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Arriving at the council, the Hokage looked out the window at the bright blue sky before he sighed heavily and entered their meeting room. Seeing Sandaime, he gave a nod toward him, which he gave back to Yondiame. "Are you ready, Yondiame-sama?"

Minato nodded and he gave his grim face to Sandaime before saying, "Of course..." He said lightly before his eyes narrowed into a determined glare at the other two elders before him. "They're not going to lay a hand on Naruto."

With a small chuckle Sandaime motioned for the current Hokage to sit down at the table, he and Sandaime on one side and Homura and Koharu on the other. Homura saw them and stood up, speaking, "Good morning Hokage-sama. I believe you do know why we are here?"

"Of course I do. The issue of the Kyuubi is a grave one, but I will stand by my views on the subject. Naruto is a hero; he's holding that beast in him everyday and is going to for his entire life." Minato responded diplomatically.

Koharu shook her head and reasoned to his statement. "That may be true but how do we know that it won't take overtake the child? After all, Jiraiya-sama did seal him away but what if it escapes or…?" She paused momentarily before getting to the true aim of the council. "No…we should exile this container away from Konoha. "

Minato had seen this coming and had already planned ahead for it, but before that something she had said had ticked him off and he meant to correct it. "I hope you know that this 'container' you speak of is my son…Namikaze Naruto, and shall be addressed as such." His eyes narrowing at the two before him in a silent threat at their insult to his son's name. "But to your proposed idea…if that is the final conclusion…then I will be leaving with him." The two across from him gasped at what he was insinuating. "Yes, and I don't think having the leader of a village become a Missing-Nin would do any good for the village. In our troubled time, other nations might see it as a weakness and an opportunity to invade."

"You wouldn't dare…" Homura said between his teeth.

"In fact, I'm pretty sure that after hearing of my defection. The alliance that **I** created with Suna would vanish and they would be the first to attack."

Koharu narrowed her eyes at the blond man before her, he had completely trapped them. There was absolutely nothing they could do without risking a full out invasion on the village. Minato had foreseen this and made plans specifically to blackmail them into doing what he wanted. "You leave us no choice Hokage-sama…so what solution would you propose in order to keep the village safe from the contai…I mean your son?"

Minato inwardly smirks as his plans was coming to alive as he said, "Simple, any time in which I am not with Naruto, a ANBU of my choice will shadow him and keep an eye on him as well as protect him from any danger."

Homura slowly nodded while Kohana gave her disdain at Yondiame's idea. "A valid proposal, but do tell me why you should be allowed to hand pick this ANBU?"

Yondaime then coldly spoke to her, cornering them into his decision even more. "What other choice do you have? If you chose to exile Naruto, you lose your Hokage and will be invaded by neighbouring nations. On the other hand…if you choose to put my son to death…I can guarantee that not only will Konoha fall, but I will personally kill the two of you. So naturally the protection of Naruto should be your main concern, and after all the ANBU are our elite and no harm will befall anyone whom they protect."

The elders knew now that they had been out smarted and were forced to abide by the Hokage's decision. They didn't like the idea, but it was a logical one and could benefit them one day. Koharu's lips curved upwards slightly at her thoughts of the future. 'With the Kyuubi in the boy, he'll become very powerful one day…all the better for us.'

Knowing they were at his mercy, Homura quietly spoke their decision. "Very well, the council agrees with Hokage-sama's proposal that one ANBU bodyguard will stay with Naruto. Do you have your choice of which member…?"

Minato said, "I have already made arrangements, and his identity is of no concern to you, ANBU wear masks for a reason Homura-san."

Hearing that, Sandaime's jaw dropped. 'How far ahead had he planned? To think he got those two dancing in the palm of his hand with one threat!' A smirk crossed his face as he thought of how he had done it. 'You really taught him well Jiraiya.' "It's agreed then, it will all be left up to Yondaime-sama."

Homura and Koharu then looked at each other with a single glance to each other eyes; there was nothing they could do. So they did the only thing they could. "Very well."

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Elsewhere, a pale man with long stringy black hair and silted yellow eyes sat outside the village in a secluded spot in the forest. In his hand he held an odd ring with the kanji for Void on it. In his head he laughed at the perfect opportunity presented to him. It had been a day sent he had sent his message of needing an audience with one of the members and he was starting to get impatient. "Orochimaru..." He suddenly heard behind him.

Turning quickly he was suddenly face to face with what looked like a man sized Venus Flytrap wearing a black cloak with several red clouds adorned on it. "And you are…"

"Zetsu…now what news do you have for the Akatsuki?" The plant said in an almost robotic voice as the plant head opened up slightly to reveal a man's head with light green hair, half his face was white while the other half as black, and a pair of pupil-less yellow eyes.

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**Look like something is happening between Orochimaru and Zetsu…but what? And how smart is Minato to think that far ahead of the elders? **

**I have to admit that the first chapter we wrote (RasenganRendan and I, cloudfightback) was so popular… Thanks for all the review you gave us. I hope you will enjoy this chapter. **


	3. Kidnap

"Talking"

'Thinking'

"**Kyuubi talk"**

'**Kyuubi thought'**

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Naruto.

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(Previously)

"_Zetsu…now what news do you have for the Akatsuki?" The plant said in an almost robotic voice as the plant head opened up slightly to reveal a man's head with light green hair, half his face was white while the other half as black, and a pair of pupil-less yellow eyes._

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"What news you ask? What would you say if I said I could capture one of the Bijuu for you?" The snake master said slyly.

"The fact that the Kyuubi no Yoko attacked Konoha is already known to us. So unless you know where it is now, you are of no use to us." The plant man replied in a cold and calculating tone. But instead of the discouraged look he had been expecting from the Sannin, he was met with an even wider grin coming from the man.

"Then it looks like I can be of use…but I want to be a full member before I tell you what I know." Orochimaru said with a smug demanding look on his face. In response Zetsu simply closed his eyes with a look of thought on his face as if he were conversing with someone.

"Fine, you are now a full member of Akatsuki." The green haired man said as he tossed a large black cloak into Orochimaru's hands. After Orochimaru had put the cloak on over his Jonin outfit he seemed to beam a sickening smile, as if his plans were being put into action.

Then suddenly Orochimaru heard a strange voice in his head. "_Now what do you know about the Kyuubi, Orochimaru-san?"_ Wheeling around the Sannin looked from side to side in order to find the person who had spoken. "Who are you? Show yourself!" _"You can just call me Leader-sama…I'm talking to you through the ring you now wear on your hand. Now what do you know of the Kyuubi Snake!"_ "So that's how it is…you know that the Kyuubi attacked Konoha last week, but what you don't know is that a Jinchuuriki was created to save the village. My idiot team mate, Jiraiya of the Sannin, died in order to seal the monster inside a newborn child.

"And who is this child?" Zetsu asked in an oddly robotic sounding voice.

"The child's name is Namikaze Naruto…the son of Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage." Orochimaru sneered at the thought of taking away the last thing in his nemesis' life; he would always curse the name of Namikaze for stealing the title of Hokage away from him.

"_Then you are of no use after all, against the might of that man we wouldn't stand a chance. I have never lost a battle and I don't intend to go flying into one I know I can't win…unless…" _The two men present heard in their heads until a soft laugh was heard as well._ "Don't think giving us information qualifies you as a full member of our organization Orochimaru-san. You must prove yourself…by kidnapping Namikaze Naruto and bringing him to Amegakure."_

"Understood Leader-sama." Orochimaru said with a gigantic smile on his face.

"_It does not matter if you succeed or fail in this mission, you will never be able to return to Konoha."_

"That's fine; I was planning on leaving anyway." He said in an evil smirk, his dream of finally getting back at Minato was finally about to be realized. Having concentrated on the voice in his head for the past couple minutes he had failed to notice Zetsu absorb himself into a tree behind him and disappear. Making some final adjustments to his new cloak Orochimaru turned with a smirk to head back to the village.

But at that moment he heard a rustle in the bush next to him and jumped back, expecting an attack. But to his surprise he could see someone in the same cloak as him walk out. _"Just one more thing Orochimaru…"_ The Sannin heard in his head, almost being able to see the smirk that would be on this so called Leader-sama's face.

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"He looks just like you Sensei." Kakashi said with a grin as he looked down at the sleeping baby. "It's almost a bit scary; he's like a little clone."

"Yeah, and you're about the hundredth person to tell me that Kakashi…it's a shame though. I wish he had some feature of his mother's." Minato said with a tone of sadness, but pushing that thought to the back of his mind he reached down and slipped a thin silver necklace with a small rectangular pendant on it. Looking more closely you could see that on the pendant there was a seal inscribed onto the metal. "At least he can have something to remind him of his mother."

"That was her's wasn't it? I'd seen her wear it on occasion." The Jonin said as he looked closely at the pendant.

"Yeah, it's a sign that they will always be protected by me." He said with a smile that his student instantly picked up the true meaning behind it. Turning, the Hokage then looked Kakashi right in the eye and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You can go home now, it has been a long day and you get started shadowing Naruto tomorrow." With a nod and a puff of smoke he was gone, now alone with his son Minato sat down in a chair by the crib and grabbed onto one of the rungs of the bars. "Don't worry Naruto, Daddy's here…and I always will be. No matter what, I'll be there…I promise." Minato said before nodding off to sleep himself.

"Sssssss…" The hiss of a snake could barely be heard from around the corner of the Namikaze house. A small viper could then be seen slowly slithering back into the sleeves of someone in a long black cloak with red clouds upon them. "Only two in the house? Security sure is low; if it's only two then it means it's the kid and his idiot of a father." After a few more sounds from the snake, Orochimaru smirked at what he had been told. "So their heat readings indicate they're both asleep…good, very good. Minato has always been a heavy sleeper as long as I've know him…but I don't know about the kid." Doing two hand signs he focused his chakra to cover the entire house. "Nehan Shōja no Jutsu." The Sannin said calmly as a multitude of white feathers appeared out of nowhere and fell through the air and into the house.

After waiting a few minutes for the effect of his jutsu to take effect, Orochimaru then did a few more hand signs before lowering his right sleeve to point at the ground. "Sen'eijashu no Jutsu." Out of the sleeve slithered a huge python, turning to its master it received its orders and then began to move slowly up the wall Orochimaru was standing next to. With its body being almost infinitely long due to the jutsu, Orochimaru controlled the snake and had it push open a partially cracked window.

It wasn't long until the python's head poked through the open door to Naruto's room. Carefully making its way past the sleeping Hokage, it slithered up and into the crib. Lightly wrapping itself around Naruto, it picked the baby up and turned to make its way back to its master. Feeling the body of the snake begin to retract into his shoulder Orochimaru could only smile. Seeing the snake held baby come out the window and eventually in his hands, his smile was then replaced by a sickening grin at how easy it had been. With the snake now gone and Naruto now in his grasp he sped off and out of the village.

About a kilometer out of the village he stopped and turned to face his former home. "Don't worry my sweet Konoha…I'll be back for you." He said with an evil smirk, but then he noticed the presence of someone nearby. "You can come out, I know you're there."

Jumping down from a tree overhead and man in a white robe and black hair could be seen. "Kidnapping infants, that's a new low for you Orochimaru-sama. Give him back and I'll think about not killing you!"

"Hmm, I was expecting your Sensei…not you Hiashi-kun." Orochimaru spat back at the Hyuuga. "How did you find out?"

Getting into the distinctive Jyuken stance Hiashi's eyes bulged as his Byakugan activated. "You must have forgotten I live near Minato, I would have thought you to remember such a thing if Jiraiya-sensei mentioned it. To a Hyuuga, a genjutsu like the one you used on Minato's house is like a beacon telling us something is going on!" Shifting his weight in preparation to attack he glared hard at the Sannin. "Now return Naruto or die!"

Returning the glare, Orochimaru got into a taijutsu stance as well, holding onto Naruto with one hand he pressed the other against his stomach. Moving his hand in as if pushing something up, he opened his mouth and out of it came a long sword. "This'll be the first time my Kusunagi tastes Hyuuga blood."

Keeping almost all his attention on the newly appeared sword, Hiashi almost missed it when Orochimaru's neck suddenly shot out, sending the Sannin's head rocketing towards him with his mouth open and fangs bared. "Hakkeshō Kaiten!" Hiashi said as he burst with chakra, spinning like a top the chakra collided with Orochimaru's head as soon as it came within range. Bouncing off the chakra, his neck detracted back to its original position as he dashed towards Hiashi as he slowed down from his spin.

"Die!" The snake yelled as he stabbed his blade down just as Hiashi stopped spinning.

"GAH!!" Hiashi yelled as he felt the blade drive straight through his shoulder. But knowing the situation he gritted his teeth and flexed the muscles around the wound, clamping down on the blade and causing him intense pain. "Now you die scum! Jyuken!!" He then yelled as he drove his charka charged palm into Orochimaru's chest, directly over his heart. Just as Orochimaru let go of his sword, Hiashi's hand then moved from over his heart and grabbed Naruto out of Orochimaru's hand.

Stumbling back, Orochimaru burst into a fit of heavy coughs, blood coming out of his mouth after every one. "You…you bastard!" He snarled at the Hyuuga before he dropped face forward to the ground.

Back in Konoha, Minato's eyes suddenly shot open, the genjutsu placed on him dispelled. Jumping up he could feel something was wrong, and looking over his eyes went wide when he saw Naruto was no longer in his crib. "Shit!" He said as before he closed his eyes to focus.

"URRGH!" Hiashi groaned when he pulled the sword out of his shoulder and threw it to the ground. Looking down at the now wailing boy he knew he would be safe now. Now to finish it." He said to himself as he walked over to where the Sannin now lay. But just as he was about to reach out and check his pulse, he as almost blinded by the flash of yellow light that appeared next to him.

"Hiashi!" Minato yelled when he saw the scene before him. "What happened!?!" But before he responded, the Hyuuga smiled and gave the Hokage his child. Grabbing Naruto tightly, Minato held him to his chest and rocked him back and forth before the boy fell back to sleep. "What happened here Hiashi?"

"Orochimaru…he put you and Naruto under a genjutsu back in Konoha. He then proceeded to kidnap little Naruto and flee the village." He then proceeded to tell Minato everything that had transpired between him and the Sannin. "But how are you here? You should still be under that genjutsu he used?"

"From what you said, when you hit him with your Jyuken, some chakra must have washed over this." He said as he lifted up the pendant that hung around Naruto's neck, Hiashi's eye brow rising with understanding. "That activated the seal, which alerted me to its whereabouts and broke the genjutsu…it broke it on Naruto as well." But after saying his thoughts on the matter his face twisted into a deep scowl. Walking over to the downed Sannin, he reached out to check his pulse and froze. "H-Hiashi…he's dead."

"What?! There's no way a hit like that would kill one of the Sannin! There's no way!" The Hyuuga burst out with as he ran over and flipped Orochimaru's corpse over, only to stumble back in surprise.

"That's because this wasn't Orochimaru…" Minato then said in shocked seriousness, looking at the face of a man he had never seen before in his life.

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Far away from where Minato and Hiashi now stood, Orochimaru opened his eyes and looked around. Standing up he dusted off his cloak and sighed, knowing he had indeed failed his mission. "I'll be back for you as well Hyuuga Hiashi!" He snarled as he melded with the ground and disappeared.

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**Hey sorry for this being so late, we've been busy and couldn't get to this! Anyway, Akatsuki's first attempt to take Naruto fails and a vendetta between Orochimaru and Hiashi is opened! **

**Like RasenganRendan said, we're sorry for this being late. Some things came up for us two. Anyway, what do you think of this chapter? **

**Thanks to everyone who reviews! It really inspires us to keep going and to make this as good as we can! So please continue to review!**

**Jutsu List:**

Nehan Shōja no Jutsu - Temple of Nirvana Technique

Sen'eijashu no Jutsu - Hidden Shadow Snake Hand no Jutsu

Hakkeshō Kaiten – Eight Trigrams Palms Heavenly Spin


	4. Childhood

"Talking"

'Thinking'

"**Kyuubi talk"**

'**Kyuubi thought'**

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Naruto.

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"Are you sure that he was Orochimaru to begin with?" Sandaime asked Hiashi, who was holding the bandages now on his shoulder.

"Yes, he even pulled the famous Kusanagi out of his body like Orochimaru-sama…I mean Orochimaru did." The Hyuuga replied. "But that's what doesn't make sense about it, he used the Jutsu that Orochimaru would use, he fought like him, spoke like him, and even felt like him. But he was far weaker than I had heard he was, almost like he was limited at a certain level of power." The more he talked about it the more it confused him. "His Chakra Network was identical to Orochimaru…but as soon as he died, it wasn't the same as it was! How is that possible?" Hiashi asked as he stood up in concern.

A hand then was felt on his other shoulder and pulled him back down to his seat. "Do you have any idea what could explain what happened with him?" Minato asked the former Hokage from the seat next to Hiashi.

"I'm sorry Hokage-sama, but I've never heard of anything like this…" Sarutobi said, stroking his goatee.

Chuckling and rubbing his neck Minato waived his hand in front of his face. "Please, that sound so weird coming from you. If you must, Yondaime will be fine if you don't feel it's appropriate to call me by my name."

"It's something you'll get used to, believe me at first it was really odd for me as well…" Sandaime said with a small laugh of his own before his face shifted back into a serious one. "I'll try to find any information on something that could explain this…but as for now I believe it's safe. At least for a while…" Then looking down he scowled at the thought of things that were to come for the baby in Minato's arms. "Naruto will need early training before the Academy." Looking up into Minato's eyes he gave him a look of worry. "I hope that he got other things from his father other than just his looks."

Minato's eyes suddenly went wide and he gulped audibly. Hiashi on the other hand didn't exactly get it and had a confused look etched onto his face. "What do you mean Sandaime-sama?"

"He means that he hopes that some of Kushina-chan's more…prevalent traits don't come out in Naruto…" Still getting an odd look from his friend he sighed and began to explain. "She was a terrifying prankster, dense as granite, and she sucked with her jutsu well into being a Chunin."

"So basically a prankster dropout." Hiashi said under his breath, resulting in a punch in the arm from the Hokage. "Sorry, well I would be honoured to instruct the boy in chakra control and usage when he gets older." The Hyuuga said in an apologetic tone.

"No, I'll teach him." Sandaime said in a firm voice. "It's the least I could do to honour Jiraiya's sacrifice, he had intended to do the same once he became old enough." Getting a smile and thanks from Minato he stepped back and made a hand sign. "As much as I would love to stay her and chat about the future, we need to understand this issue with Orochimaru." He said before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"My offer still stands Hokage-sama, if you feel he would benefit from the help I would gladly assist Sandaime."

"Not you too Hiashi! Please, it's just Minato to you. I appreciate the offer, but despite what he needs training wise, he'll still need to just be a kid. I don't want him to grow up as anything else. Only those who've been through becoming Shinobi can really value the importance of the innocence before hand." Hiashi understood exactly what he was talking about. "Besides, didn't I hear that you're going to be a daddy in not too long?"

With a smile and a small blush from the proud Hyuuga he stood up. "Yes, she's due in late December." Settling down he didn't exactly want to make this go on forever, it was the middle of the night after all. "But how do you plan on keeping Naruto safe from now on?"

"I have it covered…it's just ironic that he starts tomorrow!" Minato grumbled before heading back towards his home, patting Naruto's back as he slept in his father's arms. Hiashi couldn't help but snicker slightly at the irony.

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**(Five Years later)**

"Hokage-sama!! It happened again! You would think that someone would be able to figure out who has been committing these atrocities! They painted big spirals all over my fence!"

"Now calm down, it's probably just some kids. Please go down to the Mission Room, and we'll give you a Genin Team to re-pain your fence…on the house." Minato said to the enraged woman while tuning out the tiny snickering her was hearing coming from under his desk. After the woman had happily accepted the free service and left her sighed and dropped his head down on the desk in an echoing thunk. 'He's just like his mother!' Reaching under his desk he hoisted up a now hysterically laughing Naruto and put him down onto his desk facing him. "Naruto I told you, you can't just go around harassing people. At least don't do it to the same person twice in a row!"

"I know but that big lady is really funny when she saw what I did!" He laughed as he jumped down and off his father's desk and onto the ground. Running in front of the desk he stood up straight and a big smile broke across his face, he then raised his right hand up to a salute. "Hokage-sama! I'm off to start my training with Oji-chan!" Minato just rolled his eyes, how his son had figured out that he had a problem with the formal reference he would never know. The blond Hokage snapped his fingers and waived his son off. "Ja ne dattebayo!" Naruto yelled with a wave as he ran out of the office and off to find Sandaime.

Suddenly an ANBU member dropped down from the ceiling, he had spiky silver hair behind his dog mask. "Where did he pick up the dattebayo?" Minato said, not quite getting it.

"I have no idea Sensei, I mean I've never heard anyone else in the village talk like that…it's beyond me where he picked it up but it's apparently fully integrated in his speech. Is there ant reason you signalled for me to stay behind?" Kakashi asked as he leaned against the wall of the room after removing his mask and reaching into his pouch behind him.

"He's just going to start training with Sandaime, he'll be fine. I just wanted to tell you that the next time he pulls a prank like this, please come tell me immediately so I can get it covered up before the victim comes and complains again." Looking up his eyes went wide when he saw what Kakashi had grabbed from his pouch. "What on earth or you reading?"

"Oh this?" He asked as he closed the small orange book. "Just a brilliant book I picked up the other day. Its popularity is apparently sweeping the village, I got the last copy in the store and I can see why now!" Getting a horrified and shocked look from his Sensei his eyebrow went up and walked over to his desk to show him. "It's called Icha Icha Paradise, and it's written by some person going by Gamakage. Whoever it is, it's a masterpiece!" He proclaimed with a small giggle that took Minato back to his days of dealing with his Sensei.

Looking around frantically he began to shake his lag up and down in nervousness. "Well you're off for the rest of the day Kakashi, you won't be needed to escort Naruto home…I'll be getting him." With Kakashi's attention diverted Minato decided to explain more. "He's working on channelling chakra with Sandaime so it'll be fine."

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Naruto was simply laughing and having fun as he ran through the village to get over to Sandaime's home so he can get his lesson. He had been having a great day, after painting all over that lady's fence to basically getting permission from his Dad to prank people, just not back to back. Growing up under the playful and brilliant Hokage his mind had become quite sharp under his tutelage, plus he would always laugh and have a wonderful time once Minato got back from work and would play with him. He loved playing all sorts of games with his father, but the only one he hated was Hide and Seek, simply because his Dad always found him almost instantly yet was impossible to find. It had taken a while but Naruto eventually figured out that Minato was just using a Henge to deceive him. After the ensuing pouting and screams of cheating, his Dad tried to explain that he was testing him on being able to detect rouses like that.

Naruto's eyebrows knitted together in a scowl when he thought about that. 'He's always trying to test me and make sure I'm getting better…but it makes it no fun if it's only a test. I want to just play with Otou-chan!' His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he saw the form of his long time friend over in the middle of a small bridge and looking down at eh water beneath. "Oi! Hinata-chan!" He yelled to the small girl.

Snapping her head around Hinata quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and waved to Naruto. "Ohayo N-Naruto-kun…" She said with a small forced smile. She was wearing a simple white sleeveless dress and a pair of black sandals. She noticed that Naruto was wearing what seemed to be his favourite clothing, his usual tan shorts along with his black T-shirt with an orange spiral in the middle of it. "W-What are you doing out here?" She asked, her mind trying to cling to anything other than what she had been thinking of.

"I'm heading over to Oji-chan's for some training!" He beamed at her, seeing his smile she couldn't help but smile with him. She didn't understand it, but he could always make her smile and have fun despite whatever was going on. He had been that way as long as she had known him, which was as long as she could remember. "What are you doing out here Hinata-chan?" She heard, pulling her out of her thoughts.

Fidgeting under the aspect of why she was out there, she suddenly burst out in tears. "Kaa-san! Kaa-san died!" She wept, no on her knees and crying into her arm.

Naruto just stood there wide eyed; he had never known anyone who had died. His Dad hadn't told him much about it, but he had made it clear to him that it meant that they were gone and would never come back. Kneeing down Naruto had no clue at all what to do, but instead just did what first came to mind. Reaching out he put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her into a caring hug. "I'm sorry Hinata-chan…" She just cried into his shirt, grabbing onto him as she dealt with the fact that her mother was gone forever. "My Kaa-san is gone too…" He then said quietly to her, causing her to stop crying and sit back.

Whipping the tears off her face once more she felt a bit better. "Thanks N-Naruto-kun…sorry about your Kaa-san."

"Its okay, Otou-chan said she left us when I was born so I never knew her…" He said, a slightly saddened look taking over his face.

"That's the same with me, she…she died g-giving my Dad my new Nee-chan." Both of them then stood back up and looked over the railing at the water under them.

"I know! You can come with me to see Oji-chan! I bet he'd let you train with me!" He said excitedly. After only getting a slight smile and nod from her he grabbed her hand and ran off, pulling her along as they made their way to Sandaime's.

After hearing the quick and sporadic knocking at his door, Sarutobi knew exactly who it was. With a smile he made his way to the door. "Hello Naruto…" He started before he saw who was now partially hidden behind him. Crouching down to their level he smiled at the little girl. "Why hello there Hinata, it's nice to see you here again."

"H-Hello, Sandaime-sama." She said to the former Hokage.

Sarutobi could see the remnant signs of crying and figured it had to do with the passing of her mother. "Do you want to join us again?" Getting a shy nod from the girl he smiled and took both of their hands and led them around the house and into the small training field behind it. Now standing before the two of them he thought over what he would be showing the young kids that day. "Now the two of you know how to form chakra, but today we'll be learning how to channel it to different parts of our bodies. To do this you need to form a small bit of chakra in the middle of you. Then you think of the area you want the chakra diverted to and imagine the path from the middle of you to where you want it." Reaching into his pocket he pulled out two small metal looking rods. They were small enough to lie across they kid's palms evenly. "These rods reach with chakra, when they are touched with it, they spin…like this." Channelling some chakra to his hand the two rods began to rotate in his hand. He then handed both of them one of them and smiled. "Now you two try."

Furrowing his eyebrows, Naruto concentrated as he made a small orb of chakra concentrated within him. He had only gotten the hang of making chakra a month or so earlier so it was still not a simple task. Now that he had the orb, he made a sort of pathway in his mind going to his hand with the rod in it. Releasing the chakra and letting it go its path, he then opened his eyes to look at what he had done. But he was met with absolutely nothing, no movement, nothing. "Awww, I suck."

Sandaime let out a gentle laugh at the boy. "You're young; you're not supposed to get it right away." Looking over at Hinata, he raised an eyebrow when he saw the rod vibrating slightly, reacting minimally to her. 'She is a Hyuuga, they're naturally good at this stuff…plus if I know Hiashi then he's been teaching her a bit. Let's see how they continue…'

They worked on it for a couple hours, both of the kids slowly getting better before Sarutobi's eyes. Eventually Hinata accomplished the task with a satisfied giggle. But Naruto hadn't gotten to her point just yet. Looking down at the ground after seeing Hinata do it, Naruto started think he couldn't do it. "Why aren't I doin it yet Oji-chan?"

"Well where are you imagining your chakra going?" He asked, after hearing him say his hand he smiled. "Well can you draw the line you are imagining with your other hand?" Looking on he saw Naruto move his finger directly from his stomach to his right palm. Sandaime just raised an eyebrow to it. 'He's not even making the chakra move through his body but he's still moving the rod a bit…' "That's why; you're doing it all wrong. This is how you should do it." Pointing to his own stomach he traced a line up his chest and then across and down his arm. "Make a path inside your body Naruto."

His eyes lit up like a light bulb as if realizing a simple truth. Focusing his chakra into another orb within him her extended his hand and held the rod in his hand. Imagining the correct pathway this time he suddenly released the chakra and looked. When he did, he saw the rod suddenly wiz around extremely fast and then shoot upwards violently, embedding itself in a branch over them. "What the…" Sandaime said, looking at the rod in surprise. 'What as that? Can he already make that much chakra? Is this because of the Kyuubi?'

"I did it! I did it Hinata-chan!" Naruto shouted out as he grabbed her hands and began to jump about.

"Yes you did that, but now it's time for your test." Sandaime said after tearing his gaze away from the embedded rod. Getting an odd look from the boy, hey crouched down and pulled the pendant that hung around Naruto's neck out of his shirt. "Your test is to channel your chakra into this pendant so that your father can come get you."

Hinata didn't know exactly what was going on, but she watched on anyway, her heart still beating fast after dancing around with Naruto. She saw him concentrate, then open his eyes and look intently at the pendant that he was now holding in his hand. Then suddenly with a flash of yellow light and a gust of wind, Naruto's dad, the Yondaime Hokage was standing behind him with his arms crossed and a grin on his face. "Yo!"

"Otou-chan!" Naruto yelled as he jumped at his dad. "I did it! See!" He said as he pointed upwards at the rod still stuck in the tree branch.

Looking up he then looked questioning at Sandaime, getting only a shrug of his shoulders the Hokage figured he'd follow up on it sometime later. "Very good Naruto!" Then Hinata caught his attention, setting Naruto down he crouched to their level and smiled as he ruffled her dark hair. "I hope you had a good time today Hinata. But I think it's time I got you two home, it's getting late." He then grabbed both of their hands and grinned at Sandaime. "Ja ne…" Then is a flash of yellow he was gone.

Hinata had no clue what had happened, but after another flash of yellow she was now standing outside the gates of the Hyuuga compound. "Here you go Hinata, go on and say hi to your Dad for me, and say I'm sorry." He then said solemnly.

"Bye Hinata-chan! I'll see you soon and we can play again!" Naruto said as he jumped on his Dad's back with a smile. Hinata shyly waved to him as she opened the gates to head inside with the slightest hint of a blush. Then in a flash of light they were gone again.

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**Sorry this took so long everyone but I've been busy with a lot of other things lately. It looks like Naruto has taken after his mother after all, but he's also picked up a few of Minato's qualities. Hinata is her normal adorable self, her family connection with Naruto's has led to them being friends for quite a long time. Well be seeing Naruto making some new friends next chapter as well as his first run in with rivalry.**

**Well, I feel sorry for Minato to cope with Naruto's prankster tricks…haha. Anyway, I hope you will enjoy this great chapter coming from RasenganRendan and me, cloudfightback. The next chapter should be up in the next few weeks but you have to give us more review so we can get more ideas into our story. Adios!**

**Come on everyone lets hear your wonderful reviews! We love them and it gets us into writing more and thinking of new things to do!**


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